INDICTMENT/SUPERIOR COURT INFORMATION (SCI) CHARGE

Data Element:

INDICTMENT/SUPERIOR COURT INFORMATION (SCI) CHARGE

Definition:

A representation of a law which specifies the offense a defendant is charged with in the formal, written accusation submitted to a superior court by a grand jury or as a result of waiving the grand jury process.

DCJS Charge Code Table. Available upon request from DCJS. Refer to Appendix A for a description of the 22-character Charge Code Format.
For Attempt Indicator:
A - Attempted
C - Completed

Comments:

Statutory Class and Category should always be reported as though the offense were a completed act. For attempts, the Attempt Indicator should be reported as "A." For completed acts, the Attempt Indicator should be reported as "C."
COMMENTS: The INCIDENT/OCCURRENCE DATE (LAW ENFORCEMENT) should be referenced to determine whether the charge was in effect on the date of the crime.
The 22-character charge code format has been defined for all new systems and system modifications. This format expands the Article and Section field from 5 characters to 9 characters and the Subsection field from 2 characters to 6 characters to accommodate Non-State and Non-Penal laws. DCJS plans to convert its automated systems to the 22-character format, however, DCJS has agreed to support both the 14-character charge code (see below) and the 22-character charge code pending adoption of the new format by local agencies.
14-character coding structure:
LawTitle 3AN
Article & Section 5AN
Subsection 2AN
Statutory Class 1AN
Category 1AN
Attempt Indicator 1AN
Degree 1N
Refer to Appendix A for a description of the 14-character Charge Code Format.